Abstract:
People are placing more of their personal information online as the use of online social
networking sites (OSNs) grows. Individuals often lack an awareness around the privacy
implications of placing their personal information on these sites but still have an
expectation of privacy about this information that may not entirely be justified. OSN data
is often used for purposes other than those for which it was provided, but customer
demand for ethical and compassionate use of their data is growing. Customers expect
greater corporate social responsibility from companies, and especially banks, after the
recent global financial crisis. Customers may perceive the use of OSN data by New
Zealand banks to influence their lending decisions as a privacy violation.
This study is intended to evaluate whether this use of OSN data would be perceived by
customers to be a violation of their privacy. The research was carried out through a
web-based survey and follow-up interviews with selected respondents. It was found that
the less aware that respondents were about OSN privacy policies, the greater their
expectation of privacy. The research also highlighted that even respondents who did not
expect their data to remain private still had an expectation of privacy. A lack of
perceived control was found to be associated with a greater expectation of a privacy
invasion. Trust in respondents' banks was associated with a negative perception of
those banks' use of OSN data for lending decisions. This study has revealed a high
likelihood that a perception of betrayal coupled with a perceived privacy violation would
take place should New Zealand Banks use OSN data in this manner.
